Hearing Aids in the Wrong Places - Part 2

It's not just orange juice that does strange things to hearing aids, but also sugary drinks and coffee. Massive amounts of water, either hot or cold, will do it. A boiled hearing aid sounds clean and germ-free, but let's face it... That's enough heat to most likely melt the case and some electronics as will time in the microwave. Radio Shack or any other electronics houses don't have anything small enough for a replacement.

Water flumes count in terms of massive amounts of water, which leads to her having a good point related to roller coasters if they have water ponds around or just plain rocky areas. Then there's all the feet around. But don't forget other amusement park rides. I mention in Hearing Aids vs Humans of my being on a roller coaster and in Growing up Deaf - Part 7, the hearing aid encounters the toilet...

We've never seen a fish wear a hearing aid, so we know we can't tuna fish (tune a fish). Just make sure the hearing aid never makes it to the bathroom, either worn or unworn. You do know what Part 7 said above...? A flush is all it takes to lose the thing.

And the final thing you never want to see your hearing aid is heading at high speed away from you, shot from something like a slingshot or a projectile weapon. Its final destination could be in massive amounts of water, somewhere between a rock and a hard place, smack in the grille of a speeding Mack truck, or part of someone's BBQ.

The same thing can easily apply to the cochlear implant's external part.

Hearing Aids in the Wrong Places - Part 1

But of course, we all know there's places to never put a hearing aid. Jennifer Stuessy's The 10 most dangerous places for a hearing aid has a good listing, but probably is missing a few places we never think about.

She mentions never to put it on a nightstand, but inside. Or better yet, never place it out in the open in an area where there's a lot of things being picked up, put down, spilled, sprayed, including the kitchen sink. It's rather easy to sweep the hearing aid on the floor or crushed on a hard surface like a table. And then when it hits the floor and you have a cat that loves to bat things around... Fried and bat-tered hearing aids, anyone? Here at home we've still not found all the balls our cat's hidden.

You do know you can't drink ground hearing aid (from a garbage disposal or coffee grinder) even if you put it into the coffeemaker?

Next - Part 2

Hearing Aids STILL Cost Too Much

The Why Hearing Aids Cost So Much blog post on the SayWhatClub blog pretty much has nailed the question and issue right there. Then they follow up with The Cost of Hearing Aids–Why It May NOT Be About Supply and Demand.

I've always wondered why the prices of analog hearing aids have stayed sky-high over the years, despite many being made and sold? By now, we should have, for example, an Oticon 380P for less than $150. Have you looked inside? Many of the parts can be easily found off the shelf, thus making the total cost cheap, from most good electronics houses. There may be a few parts that may be hard to get. It helps if you have the skills to deal with the very fine wires, tiny parts, and even smaller solder points.

With the right skills and equipment, the hearing aids can be repaired. One website says you can build them for about $300, but it's possible to do for far less than this. You can make a hearing aid that costs less, has AGC, and has the abilities of other hearing aids.

Why do hearing aids cost so much? (Michigan news station)
Hearing Aid Cost
Bluetooth Headsets & Hearing Aids - also has a discussion list/forum
Hearing Aids - Too Expensive?

The slight drawback is you'll look a bit like a Borg if you don't make the circuits small enough and use too many flashing lights. Then again, we're starting to look like them anyway.

As for the marketing angle, marketers tend to make us want to spend more when we really don't need to do so.

Greed at its best.

The Persistent 4th Grade Reading Level Myth

I came across this article, Born deaf, a Pinellas County girl starts school - and hears the school bell. Then one paragraph I read made me think "not again."

“Unfortunately, people who have hearing aides only, really can only get to a fourth grade reading level," said speech language pathologist Sarah Wilson. "You can't get very far in school with that reading level. Research has shown people with implants can go in regular classes, graduate from high school, go to college. So, the impact on education is humongous."

Those who have hearing aids only? Just WHERE do they get that kind of info? Either that's what the audiologist said at the interview or the reporter screwed up majorly in taking interview notes. There's plenty of those who have hearing aids and have gone through college and their reading level and English skills are pretty high.

Karen Putz wrote in her recent Barefoot in the Burbs blog It's Not What You Can Hear, It's About Attitude. Dang... Definitely attitude and then some!

Here's one more on the myth: A Permanent Breakdown in Communication. Some good points are made in there, but this line:

"Prelingually deafened children raised using ASL or another of the signed English systems (which keep trying to force ASL to be more like English) have roughly a 10% success rate at reading English (or any other traditionally spoken language) on grade level above the 4th grade."

I'm pretty sure the number is MUCH higher than 10%. I was reading at or above my grade level and was reading and devouring books pretty quickly. So much so that my two brothers complained at times that I was reading too much!

So let's quit stereotyping the so-called "fourth grade reading level" bull droppings myth. We're smarter than that.

Hearing Aids vs Humans

I had to laugh when I read Eh? Huh? What?'s blog on What Not To Do With Your Hearing Aids.

I've had my share of broken tubing including ones that just plain split. In the split case, I was in class in high school and it was whistling the entire time. At the end of class, my interpreter told me. I wondered why no one told me at all.

Whatever happened to saving the dead batteries for recycling? Just fill up a small jar or something like that and go from there. Just don't toss it in the fire. I did that once at this camp and the resulting little explosion was interesting. For years I was wondering how big an explosion a 9V battery would have, as well as the big lantern batteries. A fireplace isn't the place to do it. Then i heard about this deaf camp where a couple kids tossed a couple dead batteries into the fire. Then there were the other kids who threw their batteries into the fire, even though they were still good.

Even I'm guilty of putting my hearing aid(s) into my pocket. I had a fairly good excuse when I was going to a local amusement park. It's great for when you're on the roller coaster. But I'd forgotten the plastic baggie and had to get a bag from a food counter when I was going to get on one of the wet water rides... Heck, best to double-bag just to keep the hearing aids dry. Most ride attendants won't even know what to do with them if you give it to them. It's rather easy to put them on the shelf, where a rider could easily toss something there, thus get crushed or dropped into the water...

Cleaning your earmolds with unconventional tools? What's wrong with using a pin (sewing or safety)? Sometimes even I've had to blow the tubing clear in some public places, hiding it in my hands and make it look like I'm blowing into them.

When is Audism Not Audism? - Part 4

So I ask once more, when is audism not audism?

Returning to the definition of audism, it is the belief that hearing and speaking are better than sign language. It is the notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who hears. It is all in the attitude. Hearing people who refuse to do anything other than speak to the deaf person, thinking they'll be understood, may be committing audism or may simply be unfamiliar with how to communicate. Adding to the term confuses and obfuscates the issue even more. Elimination of audism begins with education. Sometimes all it takes is the deaf person doing something with the audist that can change the attitude of the audist.

Bullying, social rejection, and cliques are not audism. They are issues of sociality that are faced by all members of society, no matter what the disability. There is still freedom of speech, but there are rules that must be followed here and there. This is not audism, but rule enforcement. However, Arthur Nonymous in a final comment in Part 2 had a good point.

Being offered tools for hearing better is not audism. It is a choice, to accept or refuse. The underlying hearing loss is still there. Education of the parents and user about the hearing tools is not audism, but informing them of the choices.

Deaf people will still be around, even with hearing assistance devices. Being militant will only make things worse and may cause other hearing people to commit even worse acts of discrimination and/or audism or simply refuse to deal with any deaf person, thus fueling the audism fire.

When is Audism Not Audism? - Part 3

Here's another of Jamie Berke's articles on Deaf Culture - Audism. It's got a lot of good points here including a couple of good links, especially the two resources near the end.

Please do not say that I don't understand. I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, felt the emotional impact, and then some. I have even talked about my own experiences in my Growing Up Deaf posts (parts 8, 9, and 10) in going to school, having experienced the Oralist vs Manualist fight. I posted Affected Emotionally by the AG Bell Protests? when a recent protest at AGBell in DC brought all the emotions back to the surface. My final post on the Growing Up Deaf serial sums things up.

Just because there is a bill out there for children for hearing aids and CIs doesn't mean it's an audist bill. The person sponsoring it may have the wrong ideas, but it is making more available of these tools to help, whether used or not. It simply means that you're giving the child a chance to hear with a hearing aid or a CI. If they don't help the child, not a problem. They are tools. The child can decide later on if they want to use hearing aids or CIs.

Completely separating ourselves from the hearing world would be a mistake. One would need to deal with the hearing people at some time or another. This is not a time for us to be divided based on the this word's meaning. What unites us is a common theme, our hearing loss. Don't let this become the equivalent of the Civil War, one that nearly destroyed our country.

Next: Part 4

When is Audism Not Audism? - Part 2

Let's move back in time when the Oralism vs Manualism debate was hotter, and the child was mainstreamed or in a deaf school. For the child who was mainstreamed, there were often issues such as being able to follow along with the lesson and classroom discussion including socialization with peers and classmates. In some schools, especially middle, there is a lot of peer pressure, wanting to fit in, and acceptance/rejection. The kids with disabilities could be instantly rejected the day they joined that school and/or bullied to an extent. With deaf kids who had this issue, this was not audism at all. It was plain ignorance and immaturity on the part of the non-disabled kids and in some cases, adults. Bullying can happen anywhere, regardless of disability.

Refer back to my Growing Up Deaf posts parts 18, 19, 20, and 21 on Teasing and Mistreatment. Again, as I said in the previous paragraph, it was not audism.

In Jamie Berke's article, Worse Than Last...Not at All. - A Growing Up Deaf Memory, she talks of being picked last. I had this exact same thing happen to me, not occasionally, but all the time. That is not audism, but a form of social rejection. You could SEE it in their eyes when I was last to be picked, an "oh crap, we got him" look. There was also another HEARING boy who had this same issue, and team captains often debated who to pick! Yet, the gym teacher did nothing, even though they knew about my deafness! I actually had ONE gym teacher stand up to someone who was really giving me trouble! There was another disabled girl who was in the same middle school as I, who was also rejected. So again, it was not audism, but social rejection. Mix that with immaturity and ignorance...

Remember this relay log in An Example of What Deaf Jobseekers Face? That was not audism. It was a recruiter who wasn't familiar with the relay and got intimidated and nervous by the process.

Next: Part 3

When is Audism Not Audism? - Part 1

I'm seeing many other deaf call any kind of mistreatment of them audism. It's become too much of a blanket term. But first, before I start, the definition of audism as coined by Tom Humphries in his unpublished 1975 work "The Making of a Word;"

"Audism- (o diz m) n. the notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who hears."

In short, it's the application of hearing ability onto someone who has a hearing loss and may or may not use a hearing assistance device, and expect them to be able to hear well. I have often said that with many deaf, hearing and understanding can easily be two different things. Just because something is heard, if at all, does not mean it will be understood. It stereotypes those with hearing losses. Before I continue;

Audism by Susan F. Crist

She's right about how we've expanded the term. Thus, this is why others have said while others think it's audism, most likely it may not. Wikipedia's definition of audism seems to have a somewhat slanted view.

Think about how blind people feel when a lot of the world is highly visual in this article, Being blind, 'you have to be adventurous'. What would they call it? Visualism? It's quite true our world is highly sensual. This reminds me of a short story by HG Wells, The Country of the Blind where every citizen is blind, and there is no such thing as sight. Now apply this to a country of the deaf, where every citizen is deaf, and there is no such thing as hearing.

There's an interesting parallel to this short story and the hearing/deaf world. Near the end of the story, the blind doctors want to remove his eyes to "cure him."

Next: Part 2

Of CIs and HAs

I just had to start out this blog with a title like this, since for some reason, John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" came to mind. I've not yet read the book which is a classic often read by literature students.

I've been following the battles of those for and against cochlear implants including Tuscany mom's Re: Ci Controversial, Why? post. Both hearing aids and CIs do the same thing, amplify sound to an extent and pipe/send it to the ear. Even removed, the user still has a hearing loss. I'm wondering just what's on the parent's minds when they have their very young children implanted? Is it that they can't seem to stand the thought or the shame of their child growing up without sound to an extent? Is it that they can't seem to fathom the kid spending more time with other deaf than hearing?

What's really on their minds when they go for a CI at such a young age? Why are the doctors pushing so hard for them to have it? Is it financial reasons for them as well as the companies? The decision to have the implant should come from the future implantee.

I've often told people that with those with hearing losses, that hearing and understanding can be two different things. Just because something is heard if at all doesn't mean it will be understood or known. Too many hearing people seem to not understand this little factoid. It's kinda hard to lipread a telephone.

When I lived in Louisville, KY, I was interviewed on this. If you read the article, A Sound Barrier of Another Sort, you'll see that I've foreseen a few things mentioned. Unfortunately, it's not archived on the newspaper site.

I've pretty much got a "grandstand" view if not an "onstage" view of Jamie Berke going through the process and procedure. It's fascinating watching the healing process and then going from there. I'll let her do the writing about it. Fortunately, I'm still alive since I didn't take a post-surgical picture of her. It was her decision. I didn't make it for her. I told her if she went with nothing, hearing aids, or a CI, I would go along with her decision.

Just because she got a CI doesn't mean she's an audist or she can't do her job on about.com. Far from it. She's still using sign and interpreters. She's still the same person we've all known, with or without CI and/or hearing aids. Too many people just throw around the word without really knowing what it means.

Will I get a CI? Hearing aids still work well for me. Ask me again later.

Oops! I did a Faux Pas Again!

I had to laugh when I read this blog entry back in October and it reminded me of some other things.

Mind Your P’s and Q’s, Or in This Case: D’s and H’s

Those of us who tend to alternate between the hearing and the deaf worlds usually know what they shouldn't do, but now and then a foulup will happen.

Sure, we've all had to make relay calls. The post comments about how some hearing people are so rude to the point of voicing that they have a deaf person on the phone or something. I was job searching awhile ago, there was this receptionist who said "This is a place of business." I told them why I was calling, and then she sighed and directed my call to the right person. Heck, maybe I should have said "...and I'm a job seeker, so what's your point?" Another friend's dad said the relay calls were slow, and that's pretty much the truth. Hearing people can have 5 minute calls. A relay call like this could last as long as 30 minutes. "S" *pause* "L" *pause* "O" *long pause* "W" he said.

Another call I made before IPRelay and the 800 numbers, though each state had their own 800 number. I called this craft store not once, but twice, each time getting a hangup after they say something like "I'm with a customer!" or something quite rude. I had to type to the operator that I was seriously considering going out there and straightening them out. The operator's response? "GO FOR IT!"

But of course squeaky hearing aids are as equally irritating. At one point in high school, I had a crack in the tubing leading to my earmold. During the *ENTIRE* history class, it whistled. It wasn't til the end of class when the interpreter told me about it. Then there's the other funny moments I mentioned in my Growing Up Deaf posts.

I worked at this now-gone candy bar manufacturer in the office as part of coop years ago. Since I couldn't hear the monitor beeping which indicated a program just started running, someone made a poster with "beepbeepbeepbeep" on it. Then every time it beeped, they'd knock on the glass walls and show me the poster and I'd go from there. I think I still have it somewhere. Another thing I'd occasionally do is make like a speakerphone call to that person on the other side of the window, so all they had to do was nod or shake their head for yes or no.

I've probably forgotten a few things... I'll remember them.

Growing up Deaf - Part 7

Getting hearing aids - Part 2

About ten years later, I finally get behind the ear hearing aids. They were better than the body aids, less showy, and you could hide them with hair. I couldn't always, since I've kept my hair short. I heard from someone who had longer hair who accidentally jumped into a pool with his hearing aids on. The aids were fine. He said all he heard were water sounds.

Even the BTEs had their hazards. I had the problem of the ear hook's threads getting stripped after being unscrewed and screwed back on once too many times. I was going to the bathroom and the thing picked that exact moment to fall in the toilet. Dad heard me exclaim, watched me pull it out of the toilet, and told mom what happened. When I flushed, she thought I'd flushed it away. No such luck, mom, but her reaction was priceless.

I had one pair somehow last me 16 years instead of the usual lifespan of 5 years, despite the abuse they got. This particular pair I got from when I was at NTID. I had one BTE fall into the water in the boarding area of a log flume ride. Despite the dunking, they worked the next day. The park closed the ride for about 5 minutes to retrieve it. In the same park, another time while on a roller coaster, one flew off my ears. It was found and was still working.

I had new ear molds done once or twice a year. You knew it was time to get new ear molds when they would cause feedback or you had to push them in often. It got to the point where I'd just delay getting new ones, and every time I'd laugh, they'd squeal, and I'd hold the ear mold in my ear. That little act was the target of frequent jokes, especially with a high school electronics teacher and a girl who went to the same school with me and lived on the same street I did.

Sometimes if someone wanted to find me, they'd just listen for the noisy hearing aids. If they were in a particularly rude mood, and it happened at times, they'd just put their open hand near my hearing aid just to make it feedback.

I'm still using BTEs today, and replace the ear hook and tube myself. What's your funny/horror story about your BTEs?

Next - Learning and using sign.

Growing up Deaf - Part 6

Getting hearing aids - Part 1

My first hearing aids were body aids, which I got shortly after my hearing loss diagnosis. Mine was a single body aid with a splitter cord, held in a pocket or under the shirt via harness. It got annoying after some years of receiving stares from people who were wondering what that thing was. Was it a radio or something else? Mish's hilarious A Peek into My Childhood: 'Portable Radio' blogpost makes me wonder why I didn't think of doing the radio trick.

There were those who didn't know any better, and thankfully were few, who just yanked the things from my ears. "What's this? *YANK* *squealing from earpiece*"

You often had to make sure you weren't dribbling liquids the wrong way when drinking or eating. Did they ever make protective shields for this kind of thing? The alternative was usually to take them off and put them elsewhere, put it upside down in a shirt pocket, clip it upside down on your shirt, or something else. If you did get something in there, you'd be blowing and sucking on the microphone or something else. How would it look and sound if you did just that to a regular microphone out there just to demo on? Then there'd be the times I'd gross out some people by putting the cord in my mouth.

Back in first grade, all the kids had their body aids replaced by FM aids, which were used only in the classroom. For some strange reason, I went nuts, refusing to let the teacher swap them out, crying and acting up. She finally got it on me. About the only song I remember them playing through the system was something called "P. Mooney". It went something like this...

"I'm a whee, I'm a whoo, I'm P. Mooney."

Has anyone out there heard of this song? How did you deal with rude people about your hearing aids including those who threatened to or actually did cut the cords?

Next - part 2 of Hearing Aids.